A member of the Funsegbuwa Ruling House of Ijebuland, Wasiu Adesanya, has petitioned the Ogun State Government over what he described as attempts to circumvent due process in the nomination of candidates to fill the vacant Awujale stool.
Mr Adesanya, through his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, raised the alarm in a letter dated 8 January and addressed to the Ogun State Executive Council through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
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In the petition, Mr Adesanya alleged that some individuals within the ruling house were introducing procedures that are inconsistent with the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State and the extant chieftaincy declaration guiding the Awujale stool.
According to the letter, the Secretary of the Ijebu-Ode Local Government had formally directed the Funsegbuwa Ruling House to convene a statutory meeting within 14 days to nominate candidates for the vacant stool, in line with the law.
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However, Mr Adesanya claimed that while preparations for the meeting were ongoing, a parallel process emerged. He alleged that a public notice issued by a prince who identified himself as the family’s public relations officer directed aspirants to obtain nomination forms and appear before a screening committee.
The notice also reportedly proposed that nominations would be carried out by selected delegates at a private event centre in Ijebu-Ode.
The petitioner argued that the introduction of screening exercises and delegate-based nominations was unknown to the chieftaincy declaration and the Obas and Chiefs Law, warning that such steps could disenfranchise eligible members of the ruling house.
“It is surprising that whilst members of the family were preparing for the important meeting, one Prince Adeleye Lateef Ademuyiwa who described himself as the Public Relations Officers (P.R.O.) of the family issued a notice directing candidates to pick up nomination cards and appear before a screening committee under the chairmanship of Prince Alhaji Mitiu Adenuga and that the nomination exercise will take place on 12 January 2026 at Bisood Event Center.
“The notice further directed that the nomination exercise will be done by delegates to be selected at a meeting scheduled for 10 January, 2026.
It is a matter of deep concern to our client that all the illegal directives that are unknown to the Chieftaincy declaration, Obas and Chiefs Law and the letter of the Secretary of ljebu-Ode Local Government were included in the letter of the family to the Local Government dated 6th January 2026.
“It is clear that there are plans by the leadership of the ruling house to disenfranchise members of the ruling house desirous of participating in the exercise of nomination of candidates to fill the vacancy occurring in the stool of Awujale of ljebu-Land,” the letter read.
Mr Adesanya further cautioned that any attempt by a few individuals to dominate the process could generate tension and crisis in what should be a seamless traditional succession exercise.
He called on the Ogun State Executive Council to intervene promptly to protect the integrity of the nomination process and ensure strict compliance with due process.
The petitioner also warned that attempts to exclude him or other qualified members of the ruling house would be resisted. He urged the state government to ensure fairness and justice for all parties involved.
“In particular, our client’s concern of attempts by certain elements to preclude him from the process in flagrant violation of the letters of the law will be resisted, and we hope that your intervention will ensure that justice is done to all parties involved in the process including our client,” the letter read.
The letter stated that copies of the petition have been sent to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, and the head of the Funsegbuwa Ruling House.
Background
The process to fill the vacant stool of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland in Ogun State became formal after the Ijebu-Ode Local Government approved and notified the Fusengbuwa Ruling House to commence the nomination exercise.
On 6 January, the local government, acting on clearance from the Ogun State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, issued a letter authorising the ruling house to start its internal selection process and asked it to notify the council of the date, time and venue of the nomination meeting within 14 days.
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In the same letter, the council said that representatives of the local government would attend the nomination meeting only as observers.
Responding to the directive, the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in a statement signed by the Chairman of the ruling house, Abdullateef Owoyemi, confirmed it had fixed Monday, 12 January, at Bisrod Hall in Ijebu-Ode by 12 noon for the meeting, where eligible members of the ruling house were expected to nominate candidate(s) for the stool.
Under the relevant Ogun State chieftaincy law framework, the 14-day period is the recognised window within which a ruling house must submit names of qualified candidates once notified by the council.
Where this timeline lapses, other recognised ruling houses may claim eligibility to present candidates according to the order of rotation contained in the chieftaincy declaration.
